Event Details

The Capitol’s summer exhibit, “Spanning the Century (and more),” offers a colorful exploration of Arkansas bridges and highways.
The exhibit salutes the Arkansas Highway Commission on its centennial anniversary. The Commission was created when the state legislature adopted Act 302 of 1913. The new agency had a broad mandate: to supervise road construction and maintenance and to assist counties and local road-improvement districts.
Over the past century, the Highway Commission and the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) have expanded a network of modern roads across the state. But many historic structures remain in place today.
“Our newest exhibit highlights a number of Arkansas’s historic bridges,” Martin said. “The display celebrates the variety and survival of several vital engineering feats among those documented by the AHTD’s Historic Bridge Program.”
The centerpiece of the exhibit is the photographic collection “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise.” These impressive images of historic bridges are the work of Hendrix College art professor Maxine Payne. The exhibit also includes other images as well as engineering drawings, models, bridge plates and other artifacts.
In addition to the first-floor exhibit areas, “Spanning the Century (and more)” includes panels in the Capitol’s lower-level gallery, showing some of the state’s most significant and visually appealing historic bridges.
“Spanning the Century (and more)” has been produced in collaboration with the AHTD and its Historic Bridge Program, Hendrix College and the Arkansas History Commission. It will remain on display through August in the Capitol’s ground floor and lower level galleries.